Illustrious Brother Ben Franklin and Freemasonry

Ben Franklin has long stood as one of the patriarchs of American Freemasonry. As one of the most prominent Founding Fathers, today Franklin is known for little more than the face on the $100 dollar bill. Yet, the history of the man behind such an honor is rich with industriousness, inventiveness and political genius such that he is perhaps one of a few who could be considered a modern day Renaissance man, both in and out of the fraternity.

Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, MA (as calculated by the new style – Gregorian calendar dating). His intelligence and wisdom helped him excel as an author, scientist, philosopher, statesman, and postmaster. As well known as Ben Franklin is as a Founding Father of the United States, he is also known as an illustrious Freemason.

No one can be sure of exactly when Benjamin Franklin was initiated into St. Johns’ Lodge, but it was some time during the year 1730 or 31, most likely during the February meeting[1] of St. John’s Lodge in Philadelphia. Before his initiation into the Freemason brotherhood, Benjamin Franklin made some lighthearted jokes about fraternity in his publication, the Pennsylvania Gazette. One source says that his joking was to:

“advertise” himself to St. John’s Lodge so that when he applied he would not be regarded as a stranger.[2]

After being initiated, however, Franklin’s writing in the Gazette changed because of his Masonic influences. Thereafter he published many positive and affirming stories in the Gazette about the craft. These publications have become the core for understanding the history of Freemasons in the United States, especially in Pennsylvania.

Franklin was in no way a simple and ordinary member of the Masonic lodge. He was appointed as the Junior Grand Warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge in Pennsylvania in the year 1732 and as the Grand Master on June 24, 1734.* In 1734, he also printed the first Masonic book in the United States. His Mason Book was the publication of Anderson’s Constitutions.[3] Franklin was quickly elected as secretary of St. Johns’ Lodge, and he held the position from 1735 until 1738. Franklin continued to be an active member of the fraternity, and he continued to be elected and appointed for many positions. In March of 1752, Benjamin Franklins was put onto a committee for the first Masonic building in the United States. The lodge was to be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Franklin was not only involved in Freemasonry in the United States; he also traveled abroad to take part in meetings and lodges which came about in his diplomatic missions to Europe. In November of 1760 he was entered upon the Minutes as the Provincial Grand Master during the Grand Lodge of England’s meeting in Crown & Anchor, London, a position he was elected into in June of 1760.[4] In April of 1778 he was in Paris to assist with the initiation of Voltaire into the Lodge of Nine Sisters. He continued to be affiliated with the Lodge of Nine Sisters for years through the funeral services for Voltaire and as master of the Lodge for two years. Voltaire had such affection for Franklin that it was written:

The aged Voltaire who in the last year of his life came in triumph to Paris grappled Franklin to himself as with hooks of steel. He placed his withered hands in benediction on the head of Franklin’s grandson as if to confer the philosophy and inspiration of the epoch on the third generation. The two great thinkers were taken together to the theater and at the close of the play were called upon the stage while the excited thousands cried out “Solon and Socrates.”

Benjamin Franklin passed away on April 17, 1790. He will always be remembered by the citizens of the United States as an intelligent Founding Father and scientist. For Freemasons, however, he is so much more.

Count Mirabeau’s eulogy, suggested at the French National Assembly, was perhaps most fitting for Franklin, saying:

Would it not become us, gentlemen, to join in this religious act, to bear a part in this homage, rendered, in the face of the world, both to the rights of man and to the philosopher who has most contributed to extend their sway over the whole earth? Antiquity would have raised altars to this mighty genius, who, to the advantage of mankind, compassing in his mind the heavens and the earth, was able to restrain alike thunderbolts and tyrants. Europe, enlightened and free, owes at lest a token of remembrance and regret to one of the greatest men who have ever been engaged in the service of philosophy and liberty. I propose that it be decreed that the National Assembly, during three days shall wear mourning for Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin’s Masonic career spanned a period of 60 years achieving, in his day, one of the highest Masonic accords, that of an Illustrious Brother. Given Franklin’s prolific career, in and out of Freemasonry, here below is a blended time line of his secular and Masonic life.

January 17, 1706 (New style dating) Born, Boston.

April 2, 1722 The first letter of “Silence Dogood” published.

November 5, 1724 Franklin sails to London to procure type and printing supplies.

October 2, 1729 Franklin became the owner, publisher, and editor of the weekly newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette.

February 1730-1 Initiated in St. John’s Lodge, Philadelphia

June 10,1731 Franklin publishes his “Apology for Printers,” a defense of the freedom of the press.

June 1732 Drafts a set of By-law’s for St. John’s Lodge

June 24, 1732 Elected Junior Grand Warden.

December 28, 1732 Franklin published the first edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack under the pseudonym “Richard Saunders”

June 24, 1734 Elected Grand Master of Pennsylvania.

August, 1734 Prints his Mason Book a reprint of Anderson’s Constitutions, the first Masonic book printed in America.

1734-5 The State house (Independence Hall) built during Franklin’s administration. According to old Masonic and family traditions, the corner-stone was laid by him and the brethren of St. John’s Lodge.

1735 Franklin elected to serve as Secretary to St. John’s Lodge. Continues to 1738.

October 151736 Franklin appointed clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly.

December 7, 1736 Franklin organized the Union Fire Company of Philadelphia.

April 13, 1738 Franklin in a letter to his Mother, says: “Freemasons have no principles or practices that are inconsistent with religion and good manners.”

May 14, 1743 Franklin published his A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge Among the British Plantations in America, the founding document of the American Philosophical Society.

May 25, 1743 Visits St. John’s Lodge, Boston.

November 24, 1747 Franklin and others organized a volunteer militia – the Associators – for the defense of Pennsylvania

November 14, 1749 Franklin and others organized the Academy of Philadelphia

March 13, 1750 Deposed as Provincial Grand Master and immediately appointed Deputy Grand Master by William Allen.

May 9, 1751 Franklin elected a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly (reelected annually until 1764)

March 12, 1752 Appointed on Committee for building the Freemason’s Lodge in Philadelphia.

June, 1752 Franklin, who has not yet heard of the French success, experiments with flying a kite in a thunderstorm, and also proves that lightning is electrical in nature. He describes this experiment in the October 19 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette.

October 25, 1752 Visits Tun Tavern Lodge, Philadelphia.

August 10, 1753 Franklin appointed joint Deputy Postmaster General of North America.

May 9, 1754 Disturbed by increasing French pressure along the western frontier, Franklin designed and printed a cartoon of snake cut into sections, over the heading “Join or Die,” in the Pennsylvania Gazette (often credited as America’s first political cartoon).

June through July, 1754 Franklin attends the Albany Congress as a representative from Pennsylvania proposing a union of the colonies in defense against the French.

October 11, 1754 Present at the Quarterly Communication held in Concert Hall, Boston.

June 24, 1755 Takes a prominent part in the Grand Anniversary and Dedication of Freemason’s Lodge in Philadelphia, the first Masonic building in America. Serves as Deputy Grand Master of Pennsylvania until 1760.

March 21, 1756 Franklin meets George Washington while on post office business.

December 27, 1786: In the dedication of a sermon delivered at the request of the R. W. Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, by Rev. Joseph Pilmore in St. Paul’s Church, Philadelphia, Franklin is referred to as “An illustrious Brother whose distinguished merit among Masons entitles him to their highest veneration.”

April 23, 1787 Franklin elected President of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.

February 12, 1789 Franklin composed, signed, and submitted the first petition against slavery to appear before the U.S. Congress.

April 17,1790 Benjamin Franklin passed to the Grand Lodge beyond.

April 19, 1906 Masonic Services at his grave in Christ Church yard, Philadelphia by the R. W. Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, the occasion being the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the Birth of Brother Benjamin Franklin.

* – See the comment from Pete Normand with an informative note on the history of Pennsylvania Freemasonry.

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About Greg Stewart

A devoted student of the Western Mystery Traditions, Greg is a firm believer in the Masonic connections to the Hermetic traditions of antiquity, its evolution through the ages and into its present configuration as the antecedent to all contemporary esoteric and occult traditions. He is a self-called searcher for that which was lost, a Hermetic Hermit and a believer in “that which is above is so too below.” Read more about Greg Stewart.

Benjamin Franklin was a great Freemason and founding father of our country.

However, I am compelled, for the sake of light and truth, to correct some of the more glaring errors in this article. In the fifth paragraph, the article incorrectly states that Franklin “was elected as the Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge in Pennsylvania in the year 1732 and as the Grand Master on June 24, 1734.”

The most obvious error in this statement is the claim that there was a “Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania” at that time. There was not. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was not created until 1786. The body that Franklin served in the 1730s was not a Grand Lodge, but a Provincial Grand Lodge, which was subordinate to the Grand Lodge at London. But, even the status of the Provincial Grand Lodge at Philadelphia is questionable. Further, without regard to the legal status of this Provincial Grand Lodge, Franklin was not “elected,” but was appointed by the new Provincial Grand Master, William Allen.

Let’s go back a few years. On 5 June 1730, the Duke of Norfolk, Grand Master at London, appointed Colonel Daniel Coxe as the Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge for New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This Provincial Grand Lodge was created by the appointment of Coxe, although Coxe never constituted his Provincial Grand Lodge, which never met under his leadership.

Col. Daniel Coxe (1673-1739) was the son of Dr. Daniel Coxe, personal physician to Charles II and Queen Anne. Col. Coxe was appointed as Provincial Grand Master for a term of two years, through 24 June 1732, and his document of deputation authorized the three colonies “to elect a Provincial Grand Master” to succeed him. As a result, on 24 June 1732, when Coxe’s term expired, William Allen was elected as Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania, and Franklin was appointed Prov. Junior Grand Warden. Two years later, in 1734, Franklin was elected Provincial Grand Master. The assumption was that each of the three colonies was empowered to form its own Prov. Grand Lodge in 1732.

Some writers have intimated that this Provincial Grand Lodge was a “Grand Lodge,” but it was not. Evidence of this is found in a number of places. If the Philadelphia Masons were acting under the authority of the Coxe deputation, then it is clear that they were only electing a Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania to fill the vacancy left by Coxe at the end of his two-year term. Also, in the front of Franklin’s 1734 reprint of Anderson’s Constitutions, he wrote: “Reprinted by special order [of the English Grand Lodge], for the Use of Brethren in North America.” This indicates that his reprint was being done under the authority and jurisdiction of London. (See: Wayne A. Huss, The Master Builders: A History of the F. & A.M. Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1; Philadelphia: 1986, Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania; p. 21.)

There arose some confusion as to whether the Coxe deputation of 1730 authorized each of the three colonies (NY, NJ and PA) to elect their own Prov. Grand Masters to succeed Coxe, or if it only authorized an election of one Prov. Grand Master to replace Coxe to govern all three jurisdictions. In fact, the matter was settled in April 1733, when the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge at London appointed Henry Price as Prov. Grand Master of New England. Franklin, convinced that Price had authority over Pennsylvania, wrote to Price and requested a warrant for the Prov. Grand Lodge at Philadelphia, indicating that Franklin knew Philadelphia fell under Price’s jurisdiction. Some have even claimed that Price issued the requested warrant, but that claim is not supported by any evidence, and could not have occurred, as Price did not have that authority. Coil states that “Franklin and Allen evidently became convinced of that.” In 1737, Price was succeeded as Prov. Grand Master of New England by Robert Tomlinson. In 1743, Thomas Oxnard succeeded Tomlinson when Oxnard was appointed Prov. Grand Master with expanded jurisdiction over North America. (See: “America, Freemasonry into,” Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia; Richmond, VA: 1996, Macoy Publ. Co.; pp. 30-34.)

On 10 July 1749, Thomas Oxnard, Prov. Grand Master of North America issued a warrant to Franklin, appointing him Prov. Grand Master of Pennsylvania. There was no pretense that this was a reissue of a former deputation or appointment. But, Oxnard’s act was void, as he did not have the authority to make such an appointment. In fact, in March 1750, “before the ink was dry, Lord Byron, Grand Master of England, acting directly, deputized William Allen, Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania, and Franklin promptly stepped down…. That occurred March 13, 1749/50 and erected the first Provincial Grand Lodge in that Colony.” (“Pennsylvania,” Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia; p. 468.)

After the issuance of warrants for lodges under the Ancients’ Grand Lodge of England, beginning in 1758, and the introduction and growth of the Ancients brand of Freemasonry, the Freemasonry of the Moderns began a slow decline in Pennsylvania. A Provincial Grand Lodge under the Ancients’ Grand Lodge was warranted at Philadelphia in 1761, and by 1785, Pennsylvania had become entirely that of the Ancients’, and the Freemasonry of the Moderns, and that of Franklin, had become extinct.

On 25 September 1786, the Ancients’ Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania declared itself independent of its Grand Lodge in London, and then closed forever. The following day, 26 September 1786, representatives of thirteen Ancient lodges met and formed the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. That Grand Lodge does not descend from the Freemasonry of the Moderns or the Freemasonry of Franklin. (Ibid.)

Many of the errors that are corrected here appear in Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, and subsequently in other publications like Denslow’s 10,000 Famous Freemasons, and are often repeated without correction.

Focusing on the positive, Franklin’s activity from his initiation onward, demonstrates that he was an active Freemason in Philadelphia, and always tried to do the right thing in regard to the Craft.

When Coxe’s deputation expired in June 1832, the Philadelphia Masons interpreted it to mean that they could then elect their own Provincial Grand Master for Pennsylvania, and they elected William Allen, who appointed Franklin as his Provincial Junior Grand Warden, which tells us a lot about Franklin’s dedication to the Craft, and his standing within it.

But, when Allen and Franklin were confronted with evidence that their Provincial Grand Lodge might be without authority, they honestly sought confirmation from Henry Price at Boston. This was an open and honest move on their part, again demonstrating their honesty.

When it became clear that Price could not give them that confirmation, they realized their position was untenable. Lesser men would have fought a fruitless battle to maintain a Provincial Grand Lodge in spite its having no validity.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter whether Franklin was ever a Grand Master or a Provincial Grand Master. What matters is the way he conducted himself in his dealings with his friends, his fellows and with all. He is found to be perfectly plumb, square and level.

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